From Hawks To Falcons

When it comes to remembering details about the first version of the Winnipeg Jets, I'll admit that some of those details have faded into darkness over time. While players and moments in the Jets' history still are talked about and remembered today, there are specific things that a number of people likely have forgotten. While virtually everyone remembers the Jets having an AHL affiliation with the Moncton Hawks, I'd be willing to bet that a vast number of people forgot that the final couple of seasons for the Jets saw them align with another AHL franchise. Let's take a look at how the Springfield Falcons played host to future Jets for a couple of seasons before the Jets relocated.

While the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks were battling for the Stanley Cup in the summer of 1994, the Winnipeg Jets were looking to shore up their bottom line by carrying less contracts than they had in previous seasons. In 1993, the Jets thought they had an agreement with the Dallas Stars to have both teams stock the Moncton Hawks with players, but it turned out that the two-team partnership saw the Jets stocking the roster almost exclusively rather than the two teams sharing the responsibility. With the Jets cutting the number of contracts they held, that put considerable financial stress on Moncton's owners when it came to players.

With the Jets carrying less of a burden, they too needed to find an affiliation that would allow them to share the responsibility in similar fashion to what they thought they had with Dallas. On June 10, 1994, Tim Campbell of The Winnipeg Free Press broke the news.

The Jets announced that they had signed an affiliation agreement with the Springfield Falcons, sharing that AHL franchise with the Hartford Whalers who were in the same situation of reducing the number of contracts they held. The expansion Falcons - a team that saw GM Bruce Landon lead a group into obtaining the expansion franchise after the original Springfield Indians were moved to Worcester, Massachusetts to become the IceCats - began play with a number of notable names on the roster from the Whalers and Jets.

While the Whalers had players such as Robert Petrovicky, Manny Legace, and Marek Malik with the Falcons, Winnipeg fans are more likely to remember players like Luciano Borsato, Russ Romaniuk, Nikolai Khabibulin, Stephane Beauregard, and Michal Grosek who all played with the Falcons in 1994-95 at times. Rob Murray, a player the Jets had in their lineup for just 36 games between 1991 and 1996, racked up an incredible 1310 PIMs in that time in the AHL - including 373 PIMs just in the 1994-95 season - while never posting less than 31 points! No one is saying that Murray was passed over by the Jets when it came to finding NHL-ready centermen, but I would bet a lot of Jets fans would have loved a tough-as-nails forward who could score like Murray in the lineup more often!

I'll fully admit that I had forgotten about the switching of affiliates that the Jets did before they left for sandier lands, but the Jets had been with the Moncton Hawks as affiliates since 1987. The Hawks moved into Moncton after the Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins folded the Golden Flames and saw limited success, but they did make their way to the AHL's Calder Cup Final in 1993-94 before losing to the Portland Pirates in the championship series.

Among the many players and staff that the Hawks sent to greater heights, Rick Bowness was the team's first coach from 1987-89, Dallas Eakins skated as a defender for the team from 1989-93, Brad Berry was a defenceman from 1987-90, Claude Julien played defence in 1991-92, and Dan Bylsma played 50 games in Moncton in 1993-94. That's not a bad coaching staff if I've ever seen one, so the Jets were producing some very intelligent hockey minds when it came to careers after guys finished playing.

Of course, players who did make it to the NHL from Moncton included Bob Essensa, Randy Gilhen, Pat Elynuik, Danton Cole, Bryan Marchment, Rick Tabaracci, Stu Barnes, Kris Draper, and Brent Hughes, so the Hawks were doing a fairly decent job in developing talent for the NHL. Some of those guys certainly found more success after leaving Winnipeg, but the fact remains that the Hawks were doing their part in having players ready for a call-up when needed.

When the Jets pulled their affiliation, the Hawks were forced to fold their franchise after the Jets affiliated with the Falcons, ending a run of AHL franchises in the New Brunswick city that dated back to 1978. The void would be filled by the QMJHL's Moncton Alpines in 1995 who, after one season, became the Moncton Wildcats who have found great success in the city over the last 30 years.

With the Hartford Whalers relocating to North Carolina at the end of the 1995 season, the Springfield Falcons were Winnipeg's affiliate for one season until the Jets moved to Phoenix. While the NHL team may have moved, the AHL affiliation remained as the Coyotes and Falcons worked together from 1996-97 until 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning affiliated with the Falcons. In that time, the Falcons were developing players like Daniel Briere, Trevor Letowski, Robert Esche, and Branko Radivojevic for NHL successes.

That came after the Jets vacated the city, though, so we'll cut this discussion off here as the Jets were aligned with the Springfield Falcons for two seasons that a lot of Jets fans may have forgotten. I know I did, but that's why dipping into the historical records like I do can prove to be informative, especially when you see Nikolai Khabibulin wearing a #35 Springfield Falcons jersey which had completely been erased from my memory.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!